Beginning my DMP journey....

Shadow14uk

Hope everyone has had a very Merry Christmas

I’m so pleased with myself. I rang Stepchange on Thursday 20th Dec, locked myself away and spoke to advisor for an hour! We went through all the figures, set out budget with everything covered and now I am in the process of setting up a DMP. I have just emailed back the paperwork and all statements etc.



I feel so relieved, its going to be a long journey and my plan is to rejig the budget when I can in order to pay more off etc. Advisor I spoke to was a diamond, she said yes that is best but please take a few months to adjust and get used to budgeting etc, we are here to help and if you find you can afford more then please do but do not put yourself in a situation where you are financially not able to.
I slept! For the first time in so so long I slept that night.
I felt so much more relaxed. Was a hard phone call, took me 4 attempts as hung up but so pleased I did.


I know a DMP is not for everyone and I could have went for IVA but we discussed this a lot and I'm happy.

I’m going to stay on these boards for help and support.

Thank you
A very relieved human here

Willing2Learn

It is just such a weight off your shoulders, once you realise the problem and go down the DMP route. Great way to start a new year.

If you have not already got a Emergency Fund (EF) in place, then I would suggest delaying the start of the DMP for three months, just to allow for a little EF pot saving to grow.

sourcrates

Glad you finally took the plunge, these solutions exist to help people, yes it can be a hard choice, but the figures don’t lie do they, good luck on your quest.

cado1

The relief is the best feeling, even though the process has forced you to write down how much you owe, knowing you have a timeline and end date make it all much easier.

Shadow14uk

Yes, I should have rang years ago. It was daunting the phone call but it feel so much more relaxed now.


I need to set up a new basic bank account though so now currently looking into that.


Can you delay the payments? An EF is deffo needed, MOT is due soon - (oh yay!)

jaxsmar

I know exactly how you feel. Good luck on your dmp journey. I used the co op for basic bank account, I've had no issues. Lots of advice on the dmp thread.

Quassi75

Best thing you can do.. I started my journey nearly 7 years ago and today I am debt free after paying back just over £31k. It can be hard, but if you work hard and keep communicating with your DMP provider, you can make it..

Willing2Learn

Shadow14uk wrote: »

Can you delay the payments? An EF is deffo needed, MOT is due soon - (oh yay!)

Yes, you can delay payments as long as you update creditors and keep them in the loop. Most people save up at least 3-months-worth of money toward their EF.

Edit: See this thread linked below for further guidance:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5889160/dmp

cado1

Shadow14uk wrote: »

Yes, I should have rang years ago. It was daunting the phone call but it feel so much more relaxed now.


I need to set up a new basic bank account though so now currently looking into that.


Can you delay the payments? An EF is deffo needed, MOT is due soon - (oh yay!)

My main regret apart from getting myself into debt in the first place is that I didn't get help years ago .......could've had it paid off by now :rotfl:

Shadow14uk

cado1 wrote: »

My main regret apart from getting myself into debt in the first place is that I didn't get help years ago .......could've had it paid off by now :rotfl:

Totally. I’ll be honest, I’ve rang loads and hung up, entered details online so many times and not followed throuch. This time I’ve done it and so pleased I have

Suseka97

Well done for getting things sorted now and many of us, me included, wish we'd done so years ago.
Definitely delay starting until you have a decent EF - I'd say anything from 3 - 6 months of making no payments (or just tokens, if that makes you feel better about it). Once the ball is rolling you'll have no access to credit (a good thing) and life does tend to throw a few (financial) curve balls in along the way.
It's a great feeling though, to actually take control of your financial future - so good luck with it.